A video messaging tool from vCreate is being used on the Neonatal Unit at Tunbridge Wells Hospital so parents can see their baby via video when they’re unable to be with their child.
The application allows clinical teams to send video updates to parents who are not able to be at the hospital.
The tool has been rolled-out following a three month pilot. Parents login to the app and can see how their child is progressing and can leave notes and feedback for the nursing team. Once their baby has been discharged from hospital, parents are able to download the videos.
vCreate aims to reduce separation anxiety and support parents, Julia Moat, Neonatal Specialist Matron said “Often parents have other children to care for and work commitments, so as much as they would like to be at their baby’s cotside 24 hours a day, that isn’t always possible.”
“Thanks to this new service, our nurses can help reassure parents about their baby by directly sending video updates of their child from the neonatal unit to their smartphones. Vcreate can also help families to become more involved in the care of their child, because they can see and ask questions.”
Recently a baby was born at 26 weeks, weighing just 900 grams, and spent a total of 102 days in three different hospitals – 65 of which were spent on the neonatal unit at Tunbridge Wells Hospital. The baby was eventually discharged from the unit on 30 March 2020.
The baby’s farther said “The video messaging service gave us a boost especially after all we had been through. We would receive photos and videos early in the morning which was great. To see that he was alright was very comforting.”
Ben Moore, Founder of vCreate, said “We are very grateful to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Charitable Fund for choosing vCreate and to the Morrisons Foundation for funding it.”
“We hope hundreds of families will be comforted by the video updates they receive through the app.”
The technology, which allows clinical teams to send video updates to parents when they’re not able to be at the hospital, was made possible thanks to the Morrisons Foundation. The Foundation, part of the national supermarket chain, donated £9,600 to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Charitable Fund, which will fund the service for two years.
